One finished second and forever changed her sport. One was delivered two horrific fates in life, eventually was left paralyzed, yet refused to feel sorry for himself.

Tonight at the Bahia Hotel, Julie Moss and the late Jim McLaren will be inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame. To find two people who influenced the sport more, you might have to walk 140.6 miles, the length of an Ironman triathlon.

Crawl, lunge, fame

She was 23 years old, having never played a varsity sport at Carlsbad High.

“The bottom of the JV barrel,” said Moss, now 54 and living in Cardiff.

She had watched this thing called Ironman Hawaii on TV in 1981 and was mesmerized. So for her senior project at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Moss decided to write a paper entitled “The Training and Physiological Considerations for an Ironman Distance Triathlon.”

“You ever done this before?” asked a professor.

“No,” said Moss.

“Then it should make for some pretty good reading.”

Moss was one of 49 women entered in the ’82 race, and for most of day she was the leader. But after swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 and running 26 miles, her body rebelled. The last .2 miles would be harrowing.

Four times in the last quarter mile Moss collapsed to the pavement. Fifteen yards from the finish, Moss fell for the last time. In the dark, she was passed by Kathleen McCartney.

As McCartney jumped up and down, celebrating her victory, Moss crawled, lunging at the end, touching the finish line with her left hand. Finally, she rested, eyes closed, a smile etched across her face.

Weeks later, the drama unfolded on “Wide World of Sports.”

Recalled Bob Babbitt, longtime co-publisher of Competitor Magazine: “Here’s this red-haired, freckled-faced, 23-year-old girl wearing a trucker hat. People at home are watching her journey, transfixed.

And you’re thinking, ‘Why the hell does this mean so much to this co-ed from somewhere in Southern California? Whatever it is, I want some of that.’”

The next year race entries shot from 326 to 580. Triathlon joined the Olympics in 2000. USA Triathlon estimates nearly 300,000 Americans participate in the sport today.

“That’s our triathlon moment,” Babbitt said of Moss’ crawl. “The moment that put us on the sporting map.”

Today, Moss is 54. Life has dealt her some setbacks. There was a divorce from six-time Ironman Hawaii champion Mark Allen. She battled depression in her late 40s. Her only child, Mats, would soon be off to college and she hadn’t settled into a post-athletic career.

“Never giving up, being fearless, going for it in life?” said Moss. “That’s a lot easier to do in sports. It’s harder to do in everyday life.”

She admits she was paralyzed by not knowing what to do with her life.

“Follow your heart,” she told herself.

Yoga calmed her. She lost 30 pounds she had packed on.

In the last few months, a potential new career has unfolded – public speaking. Teaming with another former triathlete, Moss touches themes like never giving up, commitment, getting up when you fall.